Louder Than Lions [zarry stalik au]

Chapter 6 - Give You Nothing But Truth

The next morning was rough. Without Harry taking the strong medication from the hospital, he seemed to be experiencing quite a bit of pain. The poor boy was having trouble standing up, much less walking.

"C'mere Harry," Zayn said, holding out his arms. Harry looked up at Zayn's eyes and limped forward, his pajamas almost making him trip and stumble more. "Let's go get you a bath before school,"

Harry just nodded and mumbled something Zayn couldn't quite hear, his eyes filling up with tears. Zayn tried to calm him, leading him out of the room. They walked into the bathroom and Zayn turned on the water filling the tub up to the top.

"Ready, charming?" Zayn asked, his voice still groggy-he hadn't gotten much sleep again. His dreams were haunted by terrifying images.

"Can't," Harry whimpered, trying to lift his legs into the tub, but wincing in pain. Zayn's heart twisted and he reached forward, lifting Harry's small body up and setting him gently into the water. Harry's face relaxed a bit when his bum came in contact with the warm water, and Zayn took a deep breath, kneeling down beside the tub.

"Is it bad, charming?" Zayn asked timidly, staring at his brother's tender head and caressing his cheek gently.

"Hurts bad, Zaynie," Harry whimpered, his bottom lip sticking out as his eyes filled up with tears.

"I'm so sorry, baby," Zayn said, trying to contain his own tears, "Let's just wash up, okay? We can't be late for school."

Harry nodded and grabbed one of his bath toys, splashing it through the water, trying to distract himself. Zayn, on the other hand, grabbed the gentle bar of soap and began washing Harry's soft skin. Harry hummed gently, looking up to Zayn when he rubbed the soap over his chest. Zayn made a funny face and Harry giggled, reaching forward with his hands and grabbing Zayn's face gently.

"No school today," Harry said.

"Yes, school," Zayn smiled, leaning forward and pressing a deep kiss on Harry's forehead, "We don't have a choice, charming,"

Harry's breathing quickened and his brow furrowed, his hand clenching around his bath toy. Zayn hushed him and then grabbed the shampoo massaging it gentle into his scalp.

Once they were done with the bath, Zayn lifted Harry's body from the bath, and grabbed a normal blue towel, wrapping it around Harry's body.

"No," Harry said, looking at the fabric around him, "Disney towel,"

"Sorry, charming," Zayn said, wrapping his arms around Harry and picking him up in the towel, carrying him to their room, "That towel is dirty,"

And what Zayn didn't tell Harry was that they would never be able to use it again, because it was stained with blood. Zayn didn't have to guts to tell Harry that right now.